


Here we are

by Amonn



Series: Alive with the beating of young hearts [1]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Aglionby has a stable, Falls and injuries, Fluff and Angst, Fox Way is a riding school, Friendship, Horses, Multi, The Barns will stay the same, equestrian AU, eventing, horse therapy, like a lot of horses and ponies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:47:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22271311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amonn/pseuds/Amonn
Summary: Blue's life was simple and she loved it, but she couldn't help yearning for more. She didn't know for what exactly, just more. So, she'd taken her decision. This year, she would enter the Eventing competition. She trained enough with her mare and she felt ready. They were ready.Sadly, she didn't predict the arrivals of two new horses and four insufferable boys who would change her plans for the best and the worst. Between a rich and condescending boy trying to relearn how to ride, angry boys who exploded (or imploded) when feelings were involved and just reckless boys liking to put their lives in danger, she had to find time to train, help in the barn and survive the year.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Richard Gansey III/Blue Sargent, Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish
Series: Alive with the beating of young hearts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1704376
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi !  
> This is my first fic in English and the first in this fandom, so the characters risk being a little OOC. I wrote this because I didn't find an equestrian fic and I miss horses and riding since I started school.  
> Please, tell me if there are any mistakes, especially because I'll try to use equestrian terms.
> 
> The title is from Spirit: Stallion of the cimarron, if you haven't, go watch it. I watched this movie during all my childhood and the songs are greats.  
> I don't own any of the characters apart from the horses and ponies.
> 
> I hope you like it!

Blue huffed as another group of pretentious boys entered the restaurant. However, something caught her attention. A smell, hard and fresh, not a pleasant one if you weren’t used to it. One of those scents you could only love when it was associated with fond memories and pleasant moments.

That wasn’t something unusual as Henrietta was still a small city, surrounded by farms, but in general, it wasn’t associated with golden boys and rich bastards. Blue observed, curious despite herself, as the four boys went into the booth and laughed when the taller one hit the low ceiling light.

The four boys were normal, as normal as raven boys could be, with their stupidly rich school uniforms and Blue thought maybe it was the air outside the pizzeria that smelled awfully like a stable.

Cialina, another waitress with whom Blue shared most of her shifts at Nino’s, passed by her on her way to the kitchen. She paused next to Blue, sighing, “Shame that I have to go now. I wouldn’t mind taking their table.”

Cialina couldn’t manage her shift that night and had asked Blue to take the rest of her shift for the evening.

“You can always stay, you know,” Blue mumbled grumpily as she went to take the orders of the newcomers. She didn’t understand what the others saw in these boys. They were all the same for her: Rich, stupid, loud, obnoxious.

And more importantly, Ravens boys were assholes.

She forced herself to think that as she approached their table. Then, it hit her again. The smell, familiar to her, unfamiliar in this setting, mixed with grease and sweat. She stopped at the table and one of the boys smiled at her. He looked exactly like you would imagine a raven boy to look like, polished and obviously perfect.

She tried to keep the smile on her face as she said, “Hello, what would you like to order ?”

Her eyes trailed from one boy to another, stopping when they saw a straw on the shoulder of a quiet and lean boy. The latter caught her looking and lowered his head, ears turning a little red. Blue couldn’t take joy in this flaw of composure as she, too, felt her cheeks burning. She prayed for her tanned skin to hide it from the boys.

Maybe she was wrong, finally. Maybe raven boys were just boys, idiots with a lot of money, but still young and human despite themselves.

And then, Mr. Rich And Perfect opened his mouth and said, pleasantly, “Oh hello! We would like two big pizzas with sausages and avocados, and ice tea, please Jane.”

His words were laced with gold, coloring the vowels in elegant sounds, and she immediately felt the press of her southern accent against her tongue.

“My name’s not Jane,” she replied with a slight sharpness.

He just smiled gently, “I know.”

Blue eyed him and she could feel the other boys’ eyes on her as well. The taller one, with a buzzcut and bruises on his jaw, shot her a razor sharp-smile, eyes flashing dangerously with entertainment as he elbowed the fourth member of the group. The small and pale boy let out a giggle when he turned his attention to the scene. The boy with the straw looked too, ears still a little red but expression amused.

Mr. Rich And Perfect continued to smile.

Blue counted to ten before responding, “Then, why you didn’t use my real name?”

“I like Jane better,” he easily answered and Blue saw a flash of white as Dark and Tall’s smirk grew in sharpness. Mr. Rich And Perfect continued, unaware of his friends or choosing to ignore them, “Actually, what kind of name is Blue? Is it a pet name or an inside joke ?”

She greeted her teeth, constantly reminding herself that the customer was a king and so, always in the right. Besides, it would not look good if she picked a fight now, especially with someone who could probably buy the entire city without putting a dent in his bank account.

She saw Straw Boy facepalming in his corner of the booth and a little tension relieved from her shoulders.

“My name is Blue,” she said with insistence, “It’s not a pet name, it’s not a joke, and it’s definitively not Jane !”

The boy wanted to say something else, but Blue didn’t let him start it. She turned on her heels and went to the kitchen to relay the order. She refilled glasses and took more orders before making her way back to the four boys again. She placed the iced tea on the table and left just in time, escaping the boys’ attention. She returned later with their order and unfortunately, she couldn’t make her escape as fast as she wanted.

“Jane !”

Blue glared at him and the boy relented, nonetheless still smiling.

“Blue then,” he amended, “Could you stay a little more? My friends and I would be glad to speak with you.”

Blue’s glare intensified. If she had the power, the boy before her would burn on the spot. Straw Boy sighed and the two other boys, the pale one and the dark one, rejoiced in the scene, eyes glinting with amusement.

She returned her gaze to Mr. Perfect, “I’m working.”

“I know that,” he replied, “but maybe you can take a pause now and stay with us ?”

The boldness of this boy still surprised her. She raised one eyebrow as she asked, “Why would I stay with a boy who insulted my name in the first five minutes we held a conversation ?”

He seemed to have the answer on his tongue, so she didn’t let him time to respond, “And I can’t take a pause whenever I want without risking my job, and I need the money.”

“If money is the problem, I can pay you to make up for it. How much do you earn here ?”

Shock and humiliation froze her on the spot. She opened her mouth but couldn’t find the right words as anger swiftly mixed up her thoughts. Finally, she stuttered, “You… You can’t pay me for my company! I’m not a prostitute !”

The boy opened his mouth in shock too, expression twisting and crumbling, as his composure disappeared quickly under uncertainty and regret.

Beside him, loud laughers echoed and Straw Boy let his head fall on the table, face hidden under his crossed arms.

“I’m sorry !” the boy said. “I didn’t mean it like that !”

Blue huffed one more time before ignoring their table and going back to work.

She worked and didn’t try to think of the boys. She was still angry during the rest of her shift and she knew that even her customer’s smile wasn’t wide enough to hide it. It didn’t help that most customers were Raven Boys with sexist remarks and stupid mentalities.

She had forgotten about them when she returned home. That night, she didn’t have chores to do at the stable but she still stopped by it. The smell, strong and musky, warm and comforting, welcomed her when she stepped in the old building.

Blue went directly to the last stall where a calm and dark mare was dozing. She didn’t want to disturb her but she felt too restless to sleep now, and the mare’s presence was one of the only things able to soothe her. The horse slowly turned to her when she appeared at the door, her big dark eyes shining with curiosity.

“Hey,” Blue murmured as she held her hand to touch the soft snout of the horse. She turned back and went to the saddlery, where she opened a purple box and took two little treats. Then, Blue went back to the stalls and gave the two treats to the mare who accepted them without fuss.

After a last stroke, she left the stable and finally went to the house to take a shower and get ready for bed.

She didn’t have school the next day, but she still had to get up early and help her family with the farm chores. Horses had to be feed, some had to be lead to the grazing fields. Stalls needed to be clean, old litters replaced with fresh and new ones.

The mornings, despite the greatest effort to be organized, were always chaos. The house was too small for the numerous women and children living in it. One bathroom wasn’t enough for everyone, and the kitchen was too narrow to receive more than five persons in it.

Blue fought her way to the fridge, taking one yogurt with her before retreating to the living room. She heard her mother calling Orla about something, then her cousin complaining loudly about it.

Her mother appeared then, “Blue, you’ll feed the horses with me this morning.” She waited just long enough to see Blue’s nod before disappearing behind the front door.

Calla, another one of the many women living in the house, entered the living room with coffee. She shook her head slightly, “It’s time we take another lad to help in the stables. Your mother’s stressed enough as it is.”

A month ago, Fox Way’s stables had a pair of boys helping at the barns. One of them had to quit because of a bad fall and an injury restricting him to lift heavy things. The other left to prepare for university. Blue hadn’t been close to either of them, but she couldn’t deny that they were helpful and great with the horses.

Now, their absence was more than ever noticeable, as everybody in the house had to give a hand in the stables. Children were asked to groom the ponies, Orla and Blue took turns cleaning the stalls and taking care of the horses. Maura, Blue’s mother and owner of the property, planned each day and arranged everyone’s role. She still gave lessons, with Calla and Persephone, but now she also had to help repair the stalls and look after the old material. Calla was the manager of the place, keeping a close eye on the stables’ finances. Persephone was still her fleeting self, a great horse whisperer and a strong woman despite her appearance. She always seemed to know where she was expected on the farm, always right here even before the others could ask for her help.

That was interesting in the fact that Blue lived in a family of farmers who weren’t just farmers. As far as she knew, every woman of the Fox Way Stables were psychics. Everyone except herself because Fate decided Blue was different. She still didn’t know if she resented it for that or not.

So, it wasn’t rare to hear some weird sentences when you were visiting or even seeing a woman preparing the first aid kit before a lesson started.

Sometimes, Blue asked her mother if she could see or feel if somebody was going to fall or die. Her mother replied it was more like a vague intuition that something would happen.

This morning Blue went to feed the horses in the main stable. There were three buildings in total, the main with the horses owned by the club and used for the lessons, the second with the old horses and the few boarding horses they had, and the third, a big stabling for the ponies. The saddlery was in the main stable but another, a smaller one, was situated in the second building, reserved for the owners and the regulars.

As she went inside, she was welcomed by neighs and hoofs hitting doors to show displeasure, all the sounds increased by the high resonance of the place. Each horse had their head out of their stall, waiting for their food with impatience.

“Well, hello to you too,” she said smiling as she went to take the wheelbarrow containing the grains.

Once the horses were fed, she went to seek her mother. She found her in the refectory, completing the noticeboard. Blue looked at the chart. Then, grimaced when she saw her name associated with the cleaning of the owners’ horses stalls. It was no secret that they were the dirtiest of the entire stables.

She heard her mother hummed as she pondered on the horse-rider pairs for her afternoon lessons.

“Do you know who I could put on Kiwi’s back ?” Maura asked. Kiwi was one of the shortest ponies they had but he was also the most temperamental one. Blue loved him for that.

“I don’t know,” she replied honestly, “Someone who is firm but doesn’t pull on the reins too much.”

Her mother smiled, “Maybe Lucy would go along with him. She doesn’t pull on the reins but she’s a fierce little demon. She’ll make him lose the bad habits he took with the novices.”

Blue nodded. She had seen the little girl making Bubble gallop more than a lap in the riding hall. It was an impressive fit as the pony usually refused to do more than a straight line in a canter.

“The weather is great today,” Blue said. “Are you taking the outdoor arena this afternoon ?”

“I will, it’s bigger and easier to do a series of jumps,” she paused and then proposed, “You can join if you want, I know you like jumping almost as much as your horse does.”

Blue grinned but shook her head, “I can’t. I have to walk dogs at two today, but I will go for a ride later.”

“Ok. Well, now I have to decide who I’ll put on Bubble, especially if we’re doing jumping today,” her mother sighed, and Blue laughed before going outside to finish her chores.

It was late in the afternoon before she could take her mare for a ride. She was just finishing strapping her horse when she spotted an unknown presence at her side. Not as unknown as she thought because she recognized the boy from the group of Raven she met the day before.

Straw Boy stood in front of her, looking surprised as he, too, was reminded of the night before.

Somehow, he seemed different this day, without his friends, in this rustic environment. He was all dust, different shades of brown, golden and grey, and strangely enough, he blended with the warm tones of the stable. His face was delicate but wary, unique in a way that caught the eye, either appreciatively or curiously.

He said, “Hello.”

Blue waited a moment, to see if the other intended to explain his presence here, but the boy stayed silent, apparently pausing to see her reaction before starting a conversation. This Raven Boy seemed so different from the rest of his friends. The offensive boy from the last night claimed attention, even the other two boys didn’t bother to keep their laughs to themselves, but this boy was quiet, fading in the background if you didn’t pay enough attention.

“Hello.” She said back with suspicion and watched as the other boy hesitated.

“I know it doesn’t look like it,” he began and his words twisted around the vowels, giving sharpness to the consonants in a way that let his stress out despite his composed expression, “but I swear I’m not stalking you.”

Blue’s eyes narrowed at him and the other boy sighed before explaining, “I’m here for the job.”

Now, she was taken aback. She knew her mother was looking for help but she didn’t know that she posted a job advert. Just to be sure, she asked, “What Job ?”

“You know,” he started, “the stableman one. It says this place needs help in the stables.”

She scoffed.

A Raven Boy applying for a job where you had to get your hands dirty, that was new. Blue’s distrust grew as the situation became more and more surrealist by the second. Besides, her mother certainly didn’t want the help of a stupid rich boy who didn’t know how to change a litter or even groom a horse.

“Do you even have any experience ?” She demanded harshly.

The other rolled his eyes, finally letting his annoyance appear, “Believe it or not, I worked as a groom in the stables of my school.”

To prove his words, he stroked the mare’s neck, smiling thinly when she leaned against his hand. His features relaxed slightly, less tight around the eyes, and he suddenly appeared younger than a few minutes ago, more vulnerable and more real.

Blue felt a little bad then, not enough to apologize but enough to stop frowning. The last tension in the boy’s shoulders left him, but his face remained tense. It might be his natural expression.

“Do you know the owner of the place ?” He then asked, still stroking the brown fur.

Blue let out a laugh as she answered, “You’re talking to her daughter but if you’re looking for my mom, she’s surely in the refectory. Someone brought a cake earlier so she’s probably eating it with her students.”

His eyes widened but he quickly schooled his expression back to his wary one. He said, “Is it the one with drawings on the windows ?”

Blue nodded and smiled, thinking of the drawings meant to represent her family and their horses. “Yeah, we had some help to decorate the place. If you look to the far left, there’s Hestia and me.”

“Is it the one with a tiny stick figure and a big bay horse next to it? If so, I must say the artist nailed it.”

“I’ll let you know that I’m not this short and I’m still perfectly capable to kick your ass.” She said with indignance but her words lost some edge, tending more to a teasing banter with a friend than a real menace.

The boy laughed suddenly, rough and deep, and strangely quiet, “I don’t doubt it.” Something flashed in his eyes and Blue couldn’t help but feel the mood shifting between them, all remaining tension vanishing from the stable.

Disconcerted and annoyed with herself for letting a boy, a Raven Boy at that, betraying the mental picture of the Rich Boys she always had, she said, “You should go find my mother before she leaves to the pastures or disappears somewhere between two balls of hay.”

“Yeah. Thanks and good ride,” he said, at last, stroking the mare one last time before leaving.

Once more, Blue was alone in the stable, still looking in the direction the boy had disappeared. Something nudged her side and she turned to her mount, “Yeah, yeah. We’re going now. You need exercise, especially since I give you way more treats than I should. I had difficulties tightening your cinch.”

Hestia snorted with impatience and Blue smiled lightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please tell me what you think about it.  
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated! 
> 
> Little facts:  
> \- Blue was this close to riding a Shetland pony, maybe she will later in the story. You can't tell me she doesn't love them. They're fierce little devils and she's a fierce little devil.  
> \- In my ex-riding school, we had a rule that if you fell during a lesson, you had to bring a cake, candies or drinks for the next lesson and share them with everyone.  
> \- Kiwi is based on a real shetland and like all shetland ponies, he's a stubborn little shit but we love him anyway. Bubble is too and he's the most frustrating pony.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!  
> Here's the second chapter and it's from Adam's POV.
> 
> A little warning because there's mention of animal abuse in this chapter. It's light and brief but it will have importance in future chapters.
> 
> Hope you like it!

Adam was lost.

No, he wasn’t lost.

He was hopelessly looking for someone without any clue of where this person could be. After searching the refectory, he went back to the stable to find that the girl was nowhere in sight, neither was her horse. Blue, surprisingly – embarrassingly - the same girl from the night before, was the daughter of his hopefully future boss.

Adam walked around, trying to find someone who might help him. As he went to the second building, a smaller and seemingly more recent barn, he heard a strange sound. Something hard hitting something hard. Adam had worked enough time around horses to recognize when something wasn’t right.

That sound definitely wasn’t right.

He rounded the corner and stopped in his tracks. The horse before him turned and turned in its box, kicking the door each time it passed by it, trying to force it open. It seemed taken by a mysterious force, crazy in its need, dangerous in its power. An insatiable need to be let out, claustrophobia clouding its eyes and its thoughts until violence seemed to be the only way out.

"Out", each hit cried, "Let me out."

Adam could understand the motive. Somewhere, deep, deep inside him, a little Adam screamed and kicked, begging to be let out, impatient to be set free from his past.

He had experience with warm-bloods, stars and athletes, as capricious as their owners. Thoroughbreds, hunters, KWPNs, even trotters. All with big names and rigorous training. 

At Aglionby, it was rare to see a student lunging his horse, rarer to see an owner grooming or just helping in the stable. So it wasn’t unusual to see horses begging to be let free like the one in front of him.

Another bang and Adam took a decision. With a last turn around the propriety and no one near him to stop him, Adam approached the stall with the feisty beast. The horse saw him and grunted, his fine head nodding vigorously.

“Hey boy,” Adam murmured as he took the halter hanging next to the stall door.

He reached out, slowly and from the left side, letting time for the horse to assess him. The animal turned and Adam looped an arm around its large neck. He slid the halter with ease on the head, fastening it rapidly before releasing the horse.

“Oh ! You reached him before me !”

Adam startled but the horse next to him merely twitched. A woman with a fuzzy cloud of pale hair just appeared on a ladder. She had a lot of straw in her messy hair but it didn’t seem to bother her. The woman came to them, placing a hand on the horse head directly on the patch of white fur.

“We were waiting for you with Magician,” she said, without adding anything more. Even if she did explain, Adam doubted he would understand more.

She pushed the door open and took a hoof pick. She handed it to him. Adam took it.

The thoroughbred appeared calmer now that the woman was here. He waited patiently, as Adam cleaned his feet. When he was finished, the strange woman gave him the lunge and guided the horse and him to the outdoor arena.

Stepping in, Adam felt all of his tension disappear. He was on familiar ground now, stepping on the loose soil, not different from what he did before. The horse was calm and docile, but attentive and eager to start the training.

The woman waited outside the training arena. She, too, was attentive to all his moves. Her disturbing black eyes watched all his movements but despite that, Adam couldn’t feel nervous. He knew what he was doing.

The horse pulled on the lunge, trying to gain speed in each turn, testing him at the slightest opportunity. Adam talked to him through the warm-up, keeping his cool and not pulling on the lead. He learned a long time ago that a horse would always win in a game of push and pull and in general, it led nowhere useful. Just with a frightened horse and an angry boy.

He was not proud of his past self. He still wasn’t proud of his present self but, at least, he tried and tried to be better.

After a while, he let loose the horse in the arena and watched with certain satisfaction the horse gallop joyfully around the enclosed place, rearing and jumping all along. The woman stood next to him. Adam could feel the long and light strands of her hair on his bare shoulder. She hummed, her eyes on the running horse but appearing lost in mysterious thoughts.

He had a strange feeling running along his arms, shivering inside his chest as he observed her.

Finally, she turned to him. No not to him, her eyes looked beyond him. Adam turned too.

Another woman was coming their way. Behind her, a flock of children talked and laughed. All of them stopped when they saw the horse galloping in the arena. They awed and scrambled to the gates as the horse, curious about the sudden commotion, trotted to see them.

“Persephone,” said the other woman, “Can you tell me why Magician is running outside? He was supposed to be let out this morning.”

Persephone replied with her little voice, “He didn’t want to go earlier. Magician was waiting for another magician.”

The other woman huffed but her smile betrayed her, “I supposed he’s here now.”

Persephone hummed again and indicated Adam. The latter didn’t know what to make of the situation. Fortunately, the woman chose for him, “Hello, I’m Maura Sargent. Owner of Fox Way’s Stables. You are ?”

“Adam Parrish, ma’am,” Adam replied, more an automatism answer than he would like, “I’m here for the job.”

Maura looked at him, then at Persephone, then at the horse, and back at Adam. She said, “No madam for me, please call me Maura. Did you really take out this horse ?”

She gestured back to the horse, busy with the children.

Uneasy, Adam nodded, “Yeah, but I had help.”

“He lunged Magician,” Persephone added and both Maura’s eyebrows raised at that.

“You’re not inexperienced, hum ? Okay, we really need help in the stables so you can start tomorrow. I’ll take the children to the saddlery and then, we can talk about your schedule.” She sighed at the end, but her shoulders relaxed as if released from a stressful weight.

Adam watched her gather the little boys and girls, some throwing him curious looks as they passed on their way to the stable. Persephone let out a tiny breath next to him.

“We should take him back,” she proposed, pointing at the horse, and Adam had the strange sensation she meant him and not we. She smiled, little and discreet, “You know the way, Magician.”

And like this, she disappeared. Adam was not sure how that happened. Shaking himself from the weird feeling creeping its way to his head, he was surprised to find the horse already waiting for him.

He was a little relieved to fall back into old habits. The job acceptance was still too new and too good to be a conclusive fact. However, it was the first good news he received in the last twenty-four hours.

The events of the last day were still fresh in his mind. His former boss telling him without ceremony that he was fired. Ronan’s snarl, still bloody but ready to fight the man too. Gansey trying to pull him back. Noah standing next to Adam, watching the scene with apprehension. Another boy, bloody too, limping out of the stable. The horse frightened by the commotion, young and hot and fierce, bleeding flanks and worn out.

He knew Ronan had a point, even if it pained him to admit it. He knew it but he couldn’t help feeling bitter about the situation.

Ronan was always seeking a fight. Especially if it was about a cause he defended.

Adam had seen the horse. He had to when its owner didn’t take it out enough. He saw the marks. He saw the foam on its coat when the beast came back from training. He heard the owner’s comments on the horse’s weak performances and difficult temper.

Still, he didn’t pick a fight with the boy. He did his job silently, with sadness and anger admittedly, but he contained it. He did his best to groom the horse. He walked it in late evenings sometimes, when it was still too worked up to rest, and bandaged its legs to relieve its tendons.

Despite this, he still had been drag into the argument when Ronan had screamed, “If it wasn’t for Parrish, your stupid nag would be fucking ruined by now!”

It had just been a passing comment, a compliment even, from Ronan’s part. It shouldn’t have been relevant in the fight and the mind.

It wasn’t until the end of the argument.

Adam’s former boss had appeared around the same time Gansey had successfully restrained Ronan. He had demanded to know what happened. The other boy, limping and sporting a black eye and bloody lips, had been the first to talk. Adam didn’t remember the exact words, just his name and Ronan’s. Obviously, Ronan had immediately started to protest and obviously, he didn’t deny his words about Adam.

And obviously, it was no secret that Adam’s favorite horse was the _stupid nag_ in question.

Not that it mattered before, not that Adam could afford a beautiful animal like this. But at that moment, it had mattered. It had become an affront even if Adam had no direct part in it. His boss always wanted a reason to fire him and this was the perfect occasion.

No more words were needed.

With a glare, Adam had silenced Ronan. Gansey had looked pained about the fallout. Noah was sad that it marked the end of all their good moments in the stable.

Adam fought with Ronan after that, when the latter tried to convince him to stand up to his boss.

He had spent the rest of the day mad at the other, before deciding it wasn’t worth it and amended peace for the night for Gansey’s sake.

Maybe he would have been angrier if Ronan hadn’t been right.

He just resented Ronan for throwing himself headfirst into problems and fights without thinking about the consequences it had on the persons close to him.

Ronan was like a Pit Bull or a feral cat. No, more like a stubborn dog because cats didn’t follow their master, and despite what he said, Ronan would always listen to Gansey. In general, Adam and Noah didn’t get involved. Noah, because he didn’t know what to do, and Adam, because he knew nothing would work. They were not Gansey. They were just other playmates. And maybe Adam was another brand of feral dog too. A bastard breed from dirt, eternally hungry, constantly caught in a flight-or-fight instinct. Like the ones he saw every day at home, with dust in their eyes, in their fur, in their fangs.

Always out of reach, always quick to run or to bite. Always apart.

Always lonesome.

Adam sighed again. Magician sighed in reply. He smiled bitterly, brushing the short and dark hair of the horse.

“You’re lonesome too?” He demanded gently. The dark horse continued to eat and Adam shook his head.

He took back the brushes where he found them. The common saddlery was clean and complete, even if the materials seemed old and used. He noticed a few bridles in need of a greasing and made a note to do it the next day.

The refectory was full when he stepped in. A dozen children were laughing and eating, talking with enthusiasm about their last lesson. Adam spotted Maura in the corner with a piece of cake in her hands. She was leaning against a desk with another woman and Persephone.

He felt out of place here, in this close space full of joy and life.

He hesitated to stay but Maura spotted him before he could back out.

“Adam,” she called, “Sorry to make you wait but we didn’t have time to eat the cake before taking the horses back. Do you want some ?”

“It’s nothing, ma’am,” he replied before declining politely the offer.

“Boy,” Adam jumped, it was the third woman who had spoken, “It’s not a choice. Do you see the cake? We’ll never finish it all and it’ll all go to waste. No rejection allowed.”

“But,” Adam started before the glare of the woman made him scramble to take a piece of chocolate cake. When he turned to find a place to eat, he caught her smug smile and swallowed his pride with his first bite.

The cake was admittedly good. What he meant by that was that it was the best thing he had eaten in a while. He watched as the children started talking more and ate less, and a good quarter of cake was left despite everyone’s efforts. Adam waited a long time as his hunger fought against his pride before he took two more pieces with visible reluctance.

As the cake slowly disappeared, children took an interest in him. They asked him about his school, he told them about Aglionby and its stable. They were strangely attentive and impressed by it. Then, they asked about his friends and Adam told them about Gansey, Ronan and Noah and the time when Noah and Ronan threw him and Gansey in the straw, resulting in a straw fight and itchy underwear. They also demanded what horses he liked best and if he could ride. At that, he noticed the women’s attention on him.

“Yeah, I can ride. I prefer groundwork though,” he answered honestly.

He learned how to ride four years ago at his first job on a farm. The old man, who retired since then, had wanted to teach him when he caught Adam staring at the horses. Adam had first refused as he didn’t have the time nor the money for it, but the old man had insisted and Adam had found himself on horseback before he could say no.

Adam didn’t ride a lot during the last months, but he would walk thoroughbreds at Aglionby and sometimes, train Noah’s or Ronan’s horse as the two insisted to keep him in shape. He did ride more in his first year at Aglionby though when Ronan couldn’t ride his mare.

“You’ll have to ride sometimes,” Maura said, assembling the empty plates on the table, “Some owners want their horses working when they can’t come and we’re always busy with ours. It would be part of your contract, okay ?”

Adam nodded and Maura smiled. Persephone hummed and the last woman smirked and muttered lowly, “Interesting.”

Adam didn’t know what to expect from this job but if free cake was already part of it, he was all for this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please tell me if there are any mistakes.  
> Comments and Kudos are good too!
> 
> Next chapter we'll be back with Blue's POV, two horses will arrive at the stable, and the Gangsey will be properly introduced.
> 
> If you want to suggest names for horses, you can tell me. I already have ideas but I'm not opposed to change them.  
> See you next week!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!  
> I'm late but the chapter is slightly longer than the others. 
> 
> There are little warnings (again) because of hints at Adam's home life, but it's light. And there is also a short fight scene.  
> Maybe I'll change the tags and the rating later if needed.
> 
> I also changed the name of Blue's mare. 
> 
> Again, I hope you like it!

Blue was walking back to the barn on Hestia. She let her graze in the little patch of green beside the outdoor arena. She started to think of the next day when she would take her mare outside with her mother to train for the Eventing competition.

Eventing was one of the most difficult trials in the equestrian world. Three days of competition with three different aspects of English riding. Dressage, jumping and cross country.

Blue didn’t care for competition. She liked to ride her mare without pressure and just for the joy of it. However, her mother had asked her pupils if they wanted to start competing and the major response had been yes. To support her and set a good example, Blue wanted to try it. Moreover, their riding school needed fame and entering a competition was a good way to win it.

She trained for it, even if she stayed by her principles. She had been firm about it, no series with impossible jumps and crazy turns. Still, despite the long treks she did before and the jumping she loved, it was another level of adrenaline. Hestia loved it, and it was the most important point.

Maura used to say a horse had to love its job for the rider to enjoy the ride. A horse happy was a happy rider.

It was true as far as she knew. She observed horses that didn’t want to do jumping. She saw horses that didn’t like dressage. Others who loved games and others preferring to go outside.

Hestia had a good heart and a curious mind. She liked trek best but loved jumping. She was patient enough for dressage lessons and playful enough to play games with others. So she loved the cross-trial, despite her lack of training, where she could jump natural obstacles and gallop below the trees with leaves under her feet.

“Blue, you’re back,” a voice said and Blue saw Straw Boy appearing next to her.

“Yeah,” she replied, “You got the job then?”

The boy nodded. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

She smiled at him, her mood always improved after a ride, “I suppose I have to say welcome here then.”

“I just realize that you don’t even know my name,” he said with a little shake of his head, “I’m Adam Parrish. It’s gonna be useful since you’ll see me around.”

“Oh great,” she grinned, “but it’s not yours that I have to know. You're not the one who insulted me.”

Adam smiled a little before replying, “I’m sorry about Gansey. I know it’s difficult to believe but he didn’t mean anything bad. He’s just… condescending without realizing and insulting without meaning to.”

Blue scoffed but didn’t reply. Instead, she rode down her horse and guided her to the box stall. Adam followed them inside and she let him help her untack the mare. When they finished grooming Hestia, they searched for her mother to ask if there were any chores to do.

They finally found her in the office, busy with a phone call. She was nodding and scribbling on her notebook. Calla and Persephone were here too, both looking agitated and intrigued by the situation.

“So one horse, an Irish Hunter,” her mother told to the phone, “Full board, with two lessons a week. She can arrive tomorrow. Okay, we’ll go through the details tomorrow. Okay, then that’s all. Goodbye.”

“New boarding ?” Calla asked and Maura sighed.

“Yeah, from Aglionby. I didn’t have all the details but it seemed urgent.”

Blue felt Adam tensed next to her. She grew curious. It was a lot of coincidences to have a new boy coming from Aglionby and then, a horse and a rider joining their stable on the same day.

The phone rang again. Maura sighed again and gave the phone to Calla. The woman frowned at it before responding with a gruff. Blue watched as her face morphed in surprise.

“Hello? Yes, it’s Fox Way’s Stables. I’m listening,” she started, “Okay, yes we take boarders. Hum. It’s for a KWPN. Okay, so a complete board with two lessons. Tomorrow? Okay, yes he can come tomorrow.”

Blue tuned the rest out as Adam grew more and more tensed beside her. Now, for one boy, two horses and two riders leaving Aglionby the same day. It was more than a coincidence. She threw a glance at the boy next to her.

“You know them,” she stated because it was a fact and not a supposition.

Adam turned to her, “Yeah. I’m pretty sure they’re my friends.”

She frowned as the last night replayed in her mind, “Your friends from yesterday ?”

Adam nodded.

“Great,” she said, sarcasm coloring her voice, “Just what I needed.”

Adam shrugged, “They’re not that bad.”

Blue glared at him.

The boy winced before replying, “I mean, they’re not the worst. Believe me when I said that, okay? And they actually know how to clean a stall.”

“Oh! They know how to take care of their horse,” she exclaimed, rolling her eyes at him, “I thought it was supposed to be an obvious fact when you have an animal.”

“You can always ask them to clean the stalls if you don’t believe me,” He replied with a half-smile. “Raven Boys playing with horse poop are still satisfying to watch.”

Blue shook her head with a loose smile. “You’re giving me great ideas on how to punish them if they’re asses like yesterday.”

“I like to be useful.” Now, his smile was little but genuine. “But as I said, they’re different.”

“No one will force the new owners to do anything,” Maura intervened, ignoring the smirk on Calla’s face. “Even if they’re “asses”.”

“Oh come on!” Calla scoffed, “Cleaning stalls never killed anyone!”

“You might be right but we need the new boarders and we need them to stay,” Maura replied. “Our incomes are already bad this month, we don’t need to lose more money.”

“They shouldn’t have horses if they can’t do chores like that,” Calla said back. “And apparently it was urgent, no? They can’t leave, even if they want to.”

Maura sighed a third time before turning to Adam, “You should go now if you don’t want to be late at your next job.”

Adam startled and looked at his watch. “Yeah, probably. At three tomorrow ?”

“Yeah, you’ll be here for your friends’ arrivals then.”

The boy nodded and left after saying his goodbyes. Blue turned to her mother, “How many jobs did this guy have ?”

Maura laughed emptily. It didn’t contain any joy in it, just pain and exhaustion.

“Three with this one.” She looked outside where the sun was starting to disappear behind the mountains, coloring the sky with red and dark blue spots. It was beautiful but her mother regarded it with a strange emotion in her eyes. “I don’t know how he does it.”

Calla grunted and Persephone wrote something in the notebook.

“I’ll prepare some ice for tomorrow,” she said and left the room.

“She likes the boy,” Calla observed. She paused a long time before adding, “Maura, I think we should just tell them to leave tomorrow. All of them.”

Maura made a face, “ You know we can’t.”

“They’ll bring nothing but troubles.” Calla prevented as she passed the door.

“What did she mean?” asked Blue, perching herself on the desk.

Maura was still observing the sky. It was turning more and more blue as time passed. She closed her eyes then and said, “I don’t know. Something big approach and we all have mixed feelings about it. You know Calla, she’d preferred it if we could stop it before it comes.”

“Something involving those boys ?”

“Yes,” Maura answered. “Now, come with me. We still need to feed the horses.”

Blue was feeling great after her morning training. The soil had been in good condition and Hestia started to take her marks with the natural jumps. She’d been particularly calm and attentive that morning, although a little too fired up in the beginning.

Maybe she could sense something was up within the barn.

She still refused to cross the river, however, but Blue wasn’t worried about it. Her mare was just a capricious horse too good to wet her hooves.

Blue had just finished eating her lunch when Adam arrived at the stable. She still had controverted feelings about him, but they were slowly and sadly disappearing the more she interacted with him.

Firstly, he was helpful and efficient. Always straight to the point and managing to find solutions in record times.

And secondly, the horses loved him. She didn’t know why but they always seemed to calm down when he was around. Magician, the old brat of the barn, had a fondness for him and that was suspicious because the old horse was a nasty piece of work when he wanted to be. Even Blue had difficulties to lunge him when he was in one of his moods. However, he let Adam take him outside. He did try to intimidate him in the stall, but Adam had made it clear that he wouldn't fall for the trick. She supposed that if Adam worked at Aglionby with its big and showy Sport Horses, he must be used to them and their moody temper by now.

When she asked Adam why he liked the old horse too, the boy explained that he always favored horses with a big temper. They were more honest apparently, their trust may be difficult to earn but so rewarding in the end.

“They always gave back,” he said, stroking the horse's neck, “and if you let them, they’ll do anything for you.”

“It’s the same for every horse,” she retorted and Adam had agreed.

“Yes but you can’t deny that the bond with your horse is special when you have to work hard to form it,” he explained.

Blue just nodded back. She perfectly understood the feeling. She remembered when she had to reeducate Hestia. Her mare wasn’t born in the stable. She came from a refuge, half price because no one wanted a horse who couldn’t be approached. It had taken a lot of time, a lot of patience, a lot of training with her mother, Calla and Persephone to just come near Hestia within ten feet of distance.

She recalled when she’d sneaked out late at night to see the mare. She just sat there, near the pen. Sometimes on the gates, sometimes on the ground. Sometimes with treats set next to her, sometimes with nothing but a flashlight. The mare started to come, curious but hesitant, the distance decreasing a little each time. When Blue remarked it, she took the treats with her every time she went to visit the mare. Each time the mare came to eat the treats and night after night, Blue decreased the distance until there was none at all.

She didn’t look at Hestia. She never looked at her. She waited or played with the grass. She talked to her though, telling her about her day, about her last creation. She let her become used to her presence. And then, when Hestia knew her enough, maybe more than anyone else, she tried to reach out. There were two failed attempts before Hestia let her touch her neck.

The next day, she asked her mother if she could have the mare for herself. Maura smiled, evidently knowing, and gave her approval. That day Hestia was hers, and they became inseparable.

So she couldn’t hate Adam when he shared the same sentiments with her about the horses. Moreover, he passed another test with high results when the ponies tried to trample him and he stood by them, firm and tall against them. Handling Kiwi remained a difficult task but the Shetland was a little demon, always trying to steal something behind your back or trying to bite anything within his reach.

She couldn’t hate Adam when a pony threw its head in his side, hard enough, and Adam cried out in pain.

She couldn’t hate him when she saw a glimpse of one of his secrets. It happened when he tried to reach for a harness hanging from a high spot and his shirt lift, letting a sliver of bruised skin appear. Red and Blue. He caught her gaze then and just sighed before handing her the bridle.

Blue wanted to say something but words didn’t want to leave her mouth. Adam was already turning back, reaching for another bridle.

She managed to say, “You shouldn’t work with that.”

Adam stilled his movements and half-glared at her, “If I could stop, I would.”

“If you want to strain your body, good for you!” She retorted, placing the bridle on a grooming box. “At least, treat it with a cream. We have tones here.”

The reply was immediate and short, “I can’t.”

“If you’re hurt, your work will be bad. The horses will feel it, you know ?” Blue huffed. Adam didn’t turn around despite having the bridle in his hands. She could see the tension in his shoulders and heard the little intake of breath when the pain was surely caused by it. Nonetheless, the boy reached for the grease, choosing to ignore her. Frustrated by Adam and his stubbornness, she added, “Just take the damn cream, Adam!”

Finally, he turned back to her, “I know what you’re doing.” His eyes were cold in the light gleam of the saddlery. “I don’t want your pity!”

Blue’s last restraints broke and annoyance spark in her blood, “It’s not pity, it’s goddamn logic!”

They entered a glaring contest. It took a long time but finally, Adam look away with a frown and a muttered, “Fine.”

Happy with herself, Blue went to the refectory and came back with the first aid kit. She watched with a certain satisfaction as Adam opened the tube with evident reticence.

“You count staying here any longer ?” He asked when she didn’t move to give him have privacy.

“Gotta make sure you actually tend yourself,” She easily replied. “I don’t know you well, but even I can see you’re a stubborn ass.”

The smile was little and brief but she still managed to catch it.

It was then that gravels were heard. Blue looked outside to see who arrived and Adam took the opportunity to close the tube of cream.

Two large horse trailers parked in the little parking lot, followed by an orange car.

A tall man in a grey suit got out from the grey car pulling one of the trailers. Blue saw her mother crossing the lot with Calla just behind her.

Adam came next to her as two boys emerged from the orange car. She felt him tense.

“Is there a problem ?” She demanded as the boy’s attention remained on the flashy car.

“Not really,” he frowned a little more, “It’s not important.”

Blue didn’t think it was unimportant if it made him nervous like that but she stayed quiet. Instead, she went to join her mother. The two other boys halted their walk when they noticed her and their faces grew comically surprised when Adam appeared to greet them.

A pale and blond woman met them next to the first car. She saluted one of the boys who shared her elfish features, before greeting the tall man. Then, she introduced herself as Mrs. Czerny, owner of the future board gelding.

“Our horses were always together at Aglionby,” Mrs. Czerny explained, “so we thought it best if we could avoid to separate them.”

The man nodded, “The mare has quite a temper but I see that Parrish is here. He used to train her last year so he’ll know how to do it.”

He seemed tired with the situation already, “Thank you for accepting them on this short notice. I don’t know what I’ll do if you couldn’t take them.”

Maura smiled politely, “It’s no problem. Maybe we should take them out now? I’m sure they’re impatient to leave those metal boxes.”

Blue watched as the man turned to the boys who were having a quiet argument on their own. The man asked, “Gansey, Czerny, Ronan isn’t with you ?”

Gansey, the offensive boy from the restaurant, winced. It was really small and nearly imperceptible but it happened. She saw the man’s eyes turned cold, his expression far from the polite and tired façade he sported a few instants ago.

“He didn’t come back last night. Didn’t he go to mass this morning ?” Gansey replied, fast and composed as if he didn’t let a crack appeared in his perfect posture. The boy had an exceptional composure, the sort that came from polishing it every day. However, it wasn’t enough to hide his worry. Blue didn’t know if he was worried about his friend’s disappearance or about the man’s expression growing more and more thunderous as time passed.

“Yes, but we had an argument and he didn’t stay to eat lunch with us. I don’t know where he went but he was supposed to be here,” the man said, tone restraining with anger. “We had a deal, Gansey. I’m not waiting around if he doesn’t show up.”

“He will come, Declan.” Gansey straightened and, just like that, he could face Declan despite the obvious height difference between them. In this instant, the boy demanded power and respect. There were no traces of his earlier hesitation. “Ronan loves his horse more than anything else.”

Declan was impassible, “I’m starting to doubt it. He managed to throw himself out of the Aglionby Stables. One wrong move now and the horse leaves.”

Blue saw the impacts these words had on the group of boys. The blond one looked crushed, Adam’s eyebrows pinched and Gansey frowned, an alien expression on his sculpted face.

The latter argued, “You can’t. If you take the mare, Ronan won't go back to Aglionby.”

Declan shook his head at that and sighed heavily, “What’s the point in keeping her if he can’t prove himself? Ronan had no problems breaking his promise to stay at the stable. I already let him a second chance. This is the last one. If he doesn’t graduate, he can say bye to his horse.”

At that exact moment, tires squealed on the asphalt.

Everyone turned as gravels were projected everywhere and a dark grey BMW slid with force into the parking lot. The car had barely stopped moving that the last member of Gansey’s band appeared. The boy stomped his way to them with a murderous scowled on his face.

As he approached, he didn’t seem to remark hers or Adam’s presence here. His eyes, clear and sharp as ice but burning like fire, rested solely on Declan. When they were so close to one another, it was impossible to deny their resemblance. The two men shared the same noses, the same cutting jaw, the same thin mouth pulled in a scowl.

Brothers, torn apart by anger and pride.

Gansey had moved when all attention was on the newcomer. He came between the brothers, a hand gripping the younger’s shoulder.

“Why the fuck are you here ?” Everybody jumped as the younger brother snarled, pushing against Gansey’s hand. He turned to his friend, “What is he fucking doing here?” He pointed at Declan.

“Lynch, stop,” Gansey tried as the older brother took a step forward.

Immediately tension grew high and thick. Blue felt her mother and the other women moved around her in defensive positions.

“Ronan,” Declan said. The name was spat with exasperation. “I’m not doing this here.”

“I asked you a damn question! Why are you here with my horse ?”

A vein twitched on Declan’s forehead, “The horse isn’t yours yet. We have a deal. I kept the horse around for you, you go to Aglionby. You’re already lucky to be expelled from just the stable.”

“I don’t fucking care,” Ronan snapped. “The stable is full of rich fucks who don’t know how to fucking ride.”

“Maybe but the horse was supposed to stay at Aglionby,” Declan retorted without missing a beat. “Now, you fail your attendance at Aglionby and it’s the end. I won't accept any more compromises!”

“It’s not fucking fair!" Ronan exploded, taking a step towards his brother. "You can’t expect me to be like you! You can’t take her away !”

“I can and I will if you can’t make a damn effort back!"

“It’s my fucking horse Declan !” Ronan was still advancing, despite Gansey's best efforts to keep him away.

“Your fucking horse that you left aside for a year! Do you think Dad would be proud ?”

Something shifted in the tight atmosphere. Blue didn’t know what word had thrown off the fragile balance in a direction from bad to really bad but it happened in a second.

The next, Ronan was on his brother.

The fight was fast and violent. The two men clearly knew how to throw punches and it was difficult to see who had the advantage on the other.

Everyone took a little time to react. Gansey was the first to leave the frozen trance they’d all entered. He went directly after Ronan.

Blue didn’t know how to help. She threw a glance at Adam but he simply shook his head at her. The adults were slightly distraught. Maura and Mrs. Czerny kept asking questions to decide what should be done but Calla shrugged saying: “Snakes need to fight their goddamn problems themselves.”

She feared a little for Gansey but the boy knew what he was doing. Restraining Ronan by blocking one of his arms, he pulled the younger boy from his brother.

Once he was free, Declan straightened himself. His suit was creased and torn apart, tainted with dark bloody stains. His left eye was starting to swell and his jaw was marked with red spots, darkening as minutes passed.

His brother was still jostling against Gansey’s hold. His black T-shirt prevented stains but his face was bruised and a dash of blood flowed from his nose, giving his lips a bloody taint. He calmed down a little when he realized Gansey wouldn’t let go.

“You had no right,” Gansey said to Declan. “It was rude and unnecessary.”

“As if Ronan doesn’t say rude things,” the man just sighed, “Listen, I’ll leave but you’ll have to promise me he’ll actually graduate.”

“If I graduate from this shitty Hell, you’ll let me return home ?” Ronan’s rage was still present but the lack of edge was noticeable. It was a peace offering, an attempt at one anyway.

Declan didn’t take it, “You know I can’t.”

“Declan,” Gansey intervened.

“Then, you know I can’t go to this fucking school,” Ronan spat, his fists clenching.

Declan closed his eyes, sighed again, before he opened them again and glared at his brother. “It’s your choice, Ronan. You make an effort to try or you say goodbye to your horse.”

He turned to the trailer and added, “Now that you’re here, you can help install “your” horse in its new home.”

Before his brother could say something back, Declan presented his excuses for the commotion and waited with a troubled expression for the women’s reaction. Mrs. Czerny seemed disconcerted and Calla was glaring daggers at the boys.

Maura looked at the man and the boys with apparent skepticism.

“I hoped that it won’t happen again,” she said with a pointed look at Ronan who scowled back. “We have children here. I don’t want them to witness a fight. If you have problems with each other, I will ask for you to settle them somewhere else. Did I make myself clear ?”

Ronan opened his mouth, ready to fire something back but Gansey elbowed him. Declan just nodded, relieved to learn that Ronan was not banned for the second time in less than a week.

“Ok,” Maura confirmed and turned to Blue then, “Blue can help get the horses out with the boys and give them a tour of the property as we arrange the paperwork.”

“Mom,” Blue groaned, but a quick glare from her mother shut her up. She could feel the boys’ attention on her now. She ignored it as well as she could until the other women disappeared with Declan.

“Maybe we should get the horses?” She proposed when none of the boys moved to do it. Ronan was shooting in the gravels and the blond boy was looking at him, letting out exclamations when gravels hit the grey car.

As if to confirm her word, something banged inside the large towing.

Ronan stopped kicking gravels and went to open the back door. The other boys helped him with it and when the ramp was down, it revealed a very displeased mare. She turned her head to look at them and seemed to calm down when she caught sight of Ronan. The boy was already in the trailer, muttering under his breath as he untied the lunge. There were a commotion and a vicious curse but finally, the mare went out of the vehicle.

She was agitated. She couldn’t keep still and turned in circles around Ronan to look curiously at her new surroundings.

“Hey, mitescere*,” Ronan said, regaining control on his horse as she realized there was no danger around her. “Noah, go get your horse !”

The boy in question was next to the second trailer. Adam was helping him opening the ramp and before Blue could realize it, a second horse was in the lot. The gelding was calmer than the mare and his attention was caught by the green patch next to him.

“He doesn’t seem so disturbed by the changes,” Blue observed as Noah tried to move his horse away from the grass.

“He’s always like this,” complained the boy. “I swear it’s all that goes in his head. Food !”

The mare neighed. Ronan huffed as he pointed to the light grey horse, “He’s still alive, see !”

He led the mare near the other horse. The gelding turned his head to look at the mare before trying again to nibble at the grass.

“Lynch,” Adam called. “Do you want to round your horse ?”

The black mare turned her head to him and Adam went to stroke her neck.

“Yeah, I think it would be better if she could burn her energy before getting in her stall,” Ronan replied before turning to Blue. “Maggot, do you know where she could throw her fire ?”

Blue bit back her comeback at the nickname and preferred to turn her attention on the horse. “You can take her to the round pen, there.”

Ronan nodded before leading his horse to the mentioned pen. Blue turned to Noah who was still preventing his horse to eat, “Do you want to take him to his stall or do you want to lunge him too ?”

“He’d already done exercise,” the blond boy responded. “and he’s also a lazy horse so he’ll prefer to go to his stall now.”

“Okay,” Blue nodded. “I helped to prepare them earlier so I can show you.”

She went to the owners’ stable and led them to the last stalls. It was quiet inside as most of the horses were out in the fields.

“Here, you’re the first so you can choose,” she said and smiled a little when Noah let his horse choose. The horse immediately went in the first, nose already in the feed rack.

“Welp, still not sure why I still let you choose when I already know the results,” he stated as he observed his horse checking the stall for hidden food.

When he found nothing, the horse snorted with displeasure and Blue laughed.

“Sorry buddy, you still have to wait a few hours before it’s feeding hour,” she informed the horse and Noah shook his head with a smile. Then he looked at her, his eyes wide with excitement.

“We should go see Ronan,” he exclaimed as he closed the door and took her hand to lead her outside. “It’s always interesting when he worked with his horse.”

He didn’t wait for her answer, already on his way out.

“Wait,” she protested lamely but she couldn’t stop laughing at the boy’s energy. “Stop running! Maybe it’s you that we should lunge in the arena.”

He turned to her with a smile, “You’re not the first one to tell me that!”

He laughed at that and continued his run. She let herself be led to the round pen where Adam and Gansey were watching the mare gallop. Ronan was in the pen, lunge in hand and telling strange instructions to the horse.

The horse was beautiful, she must admit. Well-balanced on her feet, her gaits were light and flexible. She had all the traits to be a good sport horse. She was tall but fast, with strong and long legs. She had her temper but it was undeniable that she was attentive to Ronan’s demands.

And on contrary to what you could think, Ronan was in his place here. He had cleaned up the blood on his face and the tension from earlier seemed to have disappeared. He knew what he was doing, he knew his mare and his mare knew him too.

However, something was off. The mare, despite being attentive, was fierce and stressed out. Her dark coat was damp with sweat even though it wasn’t long enough for her to be like that. She tried to charge Ronan two times already and Blue didn’t think it was with a playful mind.

“Weird ?” Noah said to Blue when the horse charged Ronan a third time.

“Dangerous,” Blue responded and Noah shrugged.

“Chainsaw is known for her temper and Ronan neglected her for a year. I would be angry too at her place,” he explained.

“This is reckless and stupid.” Blue retorted as the horse reared up. “We have to stop it!”

Adam shook his head, “She’ll never hurt him,” he said, eyes on the horse. “It’s Ronan who makes her like this. He’s still tensed from earlier, even if he hides it well. Horses feel it when you’re not confident in your position.”

“Parrish,” it was Gansey who had stayed quiet until now, “It’s enough for today.”

Adam sighed, “Ronan will not like this.”

“I don’t care what Ronan thinks,” Gansey retorted. “He’s ruining his mare and his relationship with her.”

The other boy shook his head but whistled two times between his fingers. The horse stopped her course and turned her head to him as if she’d been waiting for it.

“Parrish !” Growled Ronan from the center of the pen. “Why the fuck did you do that ?”

Adam shrugged and pointed at the horse, “She won’t listen to you if you’re worked up like this.”

Next to her, Noah let out a low, “Ooooh.”

From far away, Blue could see Ronan’s scowl. The boy walked to them at the same pace as a predator, but the horse didn’t budge as he passed next to her and came to a stop right before Adam and Gansey.

With a crisped hand, he gave the lunge and the crop to Adam and jumped on the gate to sit on it.

“I fucking told you that I’m not fucking ready,” he muttered as Adam hopped down in the pen.

“You are ready,” Adam sighed back, “but you’re still scared.”

“Adam,” Gansey said as even Blue could felt the tension growing in Ronan.

Adam raised his head in defiance. “He always wants the truth. That’s the truth.”

Ronan’s knuckles were white on the dark brown wood of the gate. His jaw clenched and his eyes were two pits of cold fire. His burning gaze glared at Adam. The other boy held the stare back with cold blue eyes on his own for a moment before turning back to the center.

The mare tried to charge him but he swiftly pushed her back in place and Blue understood then. The mare wasn’t dangerous. She reacted exactly like every difficult horse she had met. She was testing her rider and for an unknown reason, Ronan had let her win. Now, she could see the difference with Adam. The boy didn’t hesitate to be firm with her and strangely, his presence was more intense than Ronan’s.

She threw a glance at Ronan. The boy was still frowning and his full attention was on the pair. He didn’t appear angry though. He was absorbing all the details about the scene, from his horse movements to Adam’s posture.

It wasn’t that Ronan’s stance had been bad. He didn’t let himself be walked on by the mare. He clearly had experience with horses and that made Blue grew curious about what had happened to him to make him lose his affinity with his horse.

“I think that’s enough for today,” Adam said when the horse had started to show signs of fatigue.

He let her walk for ten minutes before taking the lunge and giving it back to Ronan. Then, Noah went to show them the stalls, bouncing on his feet all along. Blue hesitated to tell him to stop jumping so much in the horses’ presence but the mare and the other horses didn’t seem bothered by his energy.

She found herself next to Gansey at the back of the group. The other boy seemed lost in thoughts as he watched his friends arguing and laughing around the mare.

“So…” she started, not really knowing what to say. “Your horse is still at Aglionby ?”

Gansey startled and turned to look at her. He appeared surprised by her attempt at small talk and Blue immediately regretted it.

“Pardon me,” he replied finely. Blue wanted to roll her eyes at this. And then, he shook his head, “No, I don’t own a horse anymore.”

His tone was too pleasant, too neutral that she could feel the emotion and grief behind it. Despite her growing curiosity, she knew better than to ask what happened.

When she said nothing about it, she caught the gratefulness on Gansey’s face. She turned away from him, refusing to admit that the boy could react like a normal person after all and said, “You’ll have to learn my name if you count to come here often.”

“Yeah, about that…" Gansey said. "I would like to apologize. I didn’t want to offend you and I may have said things without thinking them through first.”

Gansey appeared sincere, his perfect façade fading away. She didn’t know when it disappeared but the boy standing before her now was letting a glimpse of his flaws and weaknesses appear. She was surprised to see that she wanted to learn more about him, about what could hurt a boy like him, seemingly perfect, what could make him so melancholic about the past.

Then, she remembered the night at Nino's and her annoyance was back.

Blue huffed, “Maybe stop renaming people, especially if you’d just met them. And stop assuming you can pay your way with everything.”

“Adam always argues with me about that last point,” Gansey sighed, “Despite my great efforts I can’t stop making mistakes."

Blue did roll her eyes at that.

A little far from them, she saw something fly out of the stall. Then, there was an outraged scream and laughs and Noah came running out of the stall, with straw in his hair and a big smile on his face. Gansey made a surprised sound when the boy took their hands to guide them outside with urgency.

“Noah!” Gansey screamed in a reprimanding tone. It wasn't effective when it was broken by the smile hidden in the corner of his lips. “What did you do?”

Noah smiled with mischief, “Nothing!”

“Czerny!” came a roar and Ronan came out of the stall. “You’re fucking dead!”

The boy was shaking his shirt and making an impressive amount of straw fall from it. Adam was just behind him with a brush in his hand, trying to remove the straw from his clothes.

“You’ll have to catch me before that!” Noah screamed back and ran away from the stable. Ronan gave chase without waiting.

“You both will have to clean your mess!” Blue yelled at them but she doubted the boys heard her.

Gansey sighed next to her. “I’m sorry about them. I’ll tell them to behave more when they'll come back.”

Adam, who had abandoned the chase before it had begun, approached them and scoffed, “As if Ronan and Noah could stay calm together for more than ten minutes.”

“Let them,” Blue told them, “We’re used to children running everywhere. As long as they clean behind themselves and there are no accidents, they can do what they want.”

She missed the meaningful look the two boys exchanged in the last part.

“Your mom has no idea what she let herself in,” Adam said with a shake of his head.

Blue thought about the day before and what her mother said about the boys and responded with a smile, “Oh, I think she knows.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Like always, please tell me if there are any mistakes so I can remove them.  
> I don't know if the next chapter will be out for next week but I'll try my best. It'll be back on Adam's POV.  
> Vocabulary:  
> *mitescere= Calm down in Latin, it's from google translate so I'm not sure about it.
> 
> Facts about the horses:  
> -The Irish Sport Horse (or Irish Hunter) is a horse breed destined for hunting but now famous for its great performance in Eventing and Jumping Shows.  
> -The KWPN is a horse breed famous in international competitions, especially in jumping and dressage. I know two KWPNs and they are the kindest horses I know so far (not that other horses are not kind!) so I gave one to Noah because he deserves to have a sweet horse.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> There's no warning for this chapter! Yay! 
> 
> Hope you like it!

“Adam!”

The little boy ran to him and hugged his legs. Adam didn’t know how to react. He set the straw broom against the wall and tapped lightly on the boy’s head. The kid let him go and smiled big and wide, showing proudly all his missing teeth.

Adam recognized him as one of the children who were there the last Saturday. He was part of the group that wanted to know more about him. Adam couldn’t remember his name. He wasn’t even sure the boy had told him.

“Hi,” he tried and it sufficed to make the child’s smile grew. Apparently, his awkwardness was only visible to him. “You’re going to ride today?”

The kid nodded with childish excitement, “Yeah! I ride on Saturdays but I can’t come next week so Maura told me I could come today instead!”

Adam couldn’t stop his lips from twisting in a smile. The joy emanating from the boy was contagious.

“Who’s your partner in crime then?” he asked the kid.

He didn’t know any of the ponies yet, but the child's expression lighted up even more when he responded, “I have Mickey! I love him. He’s so fast and he loves jumping! And he’s black like Tornado!”

“Theo!”

The boy jumped and turned around with a cheeky expression. Blue had just appeared in the main alley and was shaking her head at them. Despite her crossed arms, the corners of her lips were turned up as she watched the boy. “Let Adam breath.”

“It’s nothing, Blue,” he assured as Theo started to look sorry. He offered a small smile to the boy, “I’m sure Mickey is better than Tornado. You’ll be the fastest pair on the course.”

“I better be. We’re training for a competition,” Theo told him with all the determination eight years old kids could have. “And I want to win it with him.”

“And you’ll do great, I’m sure of it,” Blue intervened, scuffling the kid’s hair. “Now, my mother is waiting for you. They need you to bring back the ponies from the fields.”

Theo straightened up at that and made a fake salute, “Ok, Captain!” He smiled one last time and ran outside before Blue could react.

Adam threw her an amused look. Blue glared back at him, “Not a word about this.”

Adam raised an eyebrow. “Captain, uh?”

“I said not a word about this,” she gritted and Adam smirked.

He looked straight at her when he replied, “Yes, Captain.”

“Adam!” She exclaimed but her scowl faded when the corners of her lips curved in the hint of a smile. “I thought you were the less annoying of your group. Don’t prove me wrong.”

“The standards aren’t really high, you know,” he said with a light tone. “Between the boys who managed to throw a hay fight on their first day here and the guy who insulted you right after you’ve met him.”

“True,” she nodded.

“Can I at least ask why they call you that?” he demanded and Blue rolled her eyes.

She sighed but a small smile appeared on her lips, “It may or may not have been because of my temper. And the fact that most of the kids here knew me since their first lesson and took me as a role model.”

“It’s cute actually. I wish kids could look up to me,” Adam confessed, but when he imagined a bunch of small kids following him around and copying his moves, it made him a little sick though.

“Oh just wait,” Blue grinned completely this time. “You saw Theo. In two weeks, you’ll regret your words. Try to do something when ten kids ask for you every damn second.”

“I don’t think they will,” he said as he reached back for his broom.

Blue just shook her head, “The horses like you, Adam. Kids are pretty similar. They’ll accept you before you can see it and it will be too late to backpedal then.”

Her dark eyes shone with a strange emotion then. They seemed to see more than he would like, sweetened by a feeling that Adam didn't want to dive in. She was really beautiful, here, with her hair in a wild mess and her shredded shirt and her stained pants. Her smile had lost all edge now, blunted in the corners and wide with kindness, and before leaving the barn, she squeezed his shoulder.

He couldn’t believe Blue knew about his shitty situation. Well, she couldn’t know every detail but she was aware of the biggest part. Usually, Adam could hide it at least a month before someone would remark that the bruises were a recurrent thing and the stiffness in his muscles wasn’t necessarily from exhaustion.

It was also why he was surprised when he was asked to work the Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. Maura, Persephone and Calla, he learned, held lessons for kids during those days. And Adam’s job was simple. He has to keep the stables relatively clean, take the horses out and lead others to the fields. Only, on those afternoons, Maura asked him to help the children with the tack and their mounts.

It was this part that Adam dreaded. He didn’t know how you were supposed to handle children. His entire life was a bad example of how to be around children and he feared that, despite his best efforts, the poison hidden in his blood would make an appearance for the worst.

He was better now. He tried to be better.

The poison was still here though. Dark and silent until Adam would forget it. Then, something would throw Adam out of his perfect control and the beast would jump on the opportunity to tear Adam and his surroundings apart, hurting and killing everything that tried to reach for him. Reducing his progress to nothingness.

He couldn’t be better but he still continued to try and fail it, until one time would be the last.

For the better or for the worst.

Someone pulled on his shirt. Surprised, he turned around to look at a small girl. The little girl swayed a little on her feet. Her hand nervously picked at her nails and she glanced away shyly.

He tried to keep his dark thoughts far far away from the kid standing in front of him.

“Yeah?” he asked softly, more breath than sound. 

“I’m sorry to bother you,” she said with a small voice. “But my pony puffs up his belly and I can’t saddle him. Blue is already busy with Nina’s pony and Maura said we could ask you.”

“Oh,” It was soon, but he could do this. Cinching a horse was something easy. “Okay, lead me to your pony.”

The girl smiled and seemed to forget her shyness. She took his hand and led him to the spot where the group of children had attached their mounts. Everyone seemed busy with their pony. Blue noticed them and waved before she picked back up her explanation on how to open a pony’s mouth to put the bit in place without hurting the animal and avoiding a bite.

The little girl stopped near a bay Shetland pony. Adam recognized him as the famous Kiwi. The horse seemed pretty calm now but Adam didn’t believe it a second.

“Okay, buddy,” he said to the little beast and stroke him lightly on the neck. “I’m sorry to break it to you but we have to cinch you.”

The little girl laughed at him when the horse released a long exhale and relaxed under his hand.

“Do you talk to horses ?” She exclaimed as she succeeded to adjust the cinch on the first try.

“Maybe,” he replied with a suspicious tone as his hand went in the thick mane of the little monster. He added in an amused murmur, “Can you keep my secret?”

The girl’s eyes widened before she nodded vigorously. “Yeah, your secret is safe with me!”

“What secret?” Asked Theo who had finished tacking up his pony.

Panic grew on the girl’s face and she tried to find an excuse but another kid said, “Adam can talk to horses! Like Persephone!”

Theo squealed, “Really? Cool! Me too! I want to learn how to talk to horses!”

The girl touched Adam's hand and her eyes held all wonders in them when she looked at him, “Me too, Adam! Can you teach us?”

Now, Adam was caught out. In less than five minutes, a dozen children were looking at him with big expectant eyes, awaiting his words with eagerness and impatience.

Blue appeared unfairly amused by the situation and made a go on gesture at him.

“I… Uh..” He was speechless in front of them all. Then, he improvised. “Ok, the first thing to know to talk to your horse is to listen to him.”

“How do we listen to him?” Theo asked with a confused tone.

“When they neigh, dummy!” Another boy replied with a smile, nudging him.

Adam smiled at them before shaking his head, “Actually, horses are pretty quiet. They talk with gestures. It’s why you must pay attention to each little detail. Can you tell me what signs you can observe to tell the mood of your horse?”

The little girl raised her hand and responded, “The ears! When the ears are pinned back, the horse is angry. When they are pricked, the horse is paying attention.”

Adam nodded to her, “Yes, that’s exactly it. Well, you need to pay attention to his posture too. If his head is held high or low. If his neck is curved forward or straight.”

All the children were hanging on his words and a strange feeling swelled in his chest when he saw how hard they all were listening. He was surprised when he found out that he liked their attention and pride, for once, tugged gently at his heart.

He continued to explain to them how horses communicate, with Blue giving some precisions when she could, and answered all the questions the curious kids asked him.

Someone clapped their hands to catch their attention and Adam noticed that Maura had arrived with Calla. The women had matching smiles on their faces when they took in the scene. 

“Everybody is ready?” Calla demanded and the children scrambled to get next to their ponies. “Today, we’re going to the outdoor ring and we’ll do mounting and basic exercises.”

Calla smiled devilishly as a concert of groans followed her announcement.

“Maybe if you’re good, we’ll jump one or two obstacles but only if you succeed the exercises.” Maura turned to detach the first pony and began to walk to the ring. The children all followed her lead obediently in a single file.

“I did tell you that they’ll like you,” Blue said, tone smug, when the children had all disappeared. “I’m sure you’ll have your proper nickname soon.”

“I don’t know what happened,” Adam admitted with honesty and slight panic. “Did I just start a cult?”

“The cult of the horse whisperers?” Blue mused, tasting the name. “One thing is sure, you’re their leader now. In a month, you’ll conquer the world with an army of children on beautiful horses and deadly ponies.”

Adam huffed a smile, and then frowned, “Why me and not Persephone?”

“Persephone is too… Persephony,” Blue told him and gestured vaguely with her hand. “She’s a great teacher but her advice is vague and metaphoric. The children respect her but don’t understand her.”

Adam shrugged, “I don’t understand her either, even if I tried.”

“I know, right,” Blue said. “I love her but sometimes she frustrates me.”

He noticed then, that Blue had a halter on her shoulder. “You’re going to see Hestia?” He pointed at the halter.

“Yeah,” Blue readjusted her hold on it, then asked, “Can you take Magician’s halter and prepare him ?”

At Adam’s perplexed expression, she added, “After the kids' lesson, we have another lesson with older riders.”

“And I need to prepare him?” He was pretty sure the horse wasn't used for lessons.

“Yes,” Blue rolled her eyes at him and continued, “You’ll ride him.” Like it was obvious.

Adam opened his mouth to protest but Blue beat him to it, “No one wants to ride Magician but he needs exercises other than rounding. Usually, we forced someone on him but he likes you and you like him, so it seems obvious to pair him with you.”

“Blue I can’t,” Adam still complained. “Your mother doesn’t pay me to ride horses. I haven’t finished my chores yet. I can’t leave them like that.”

Blue threw him a pointed look, “You’re supposed to help us. We don’t have time to ride our horses every day. And you enjoy riding. It’s a win-win situation.”

He continued to frown at her and Blue just sighed, “Listen, prepare Magician. Then, take out Kiss, Noctis, and Maximus. Just attach them in the main alley. I need to go now, knowing Hestia, I’ll probably need a good hour to clean her up.”

And like that, she left for the fields. Adam glared at her back until it disappeared behind a large tree.

The dark bay horse was dozing when Adam arrived at his stall. He sighed when Adam opened the door like he was already sick of the situation.

“Me too, bud,” Adam said gently, taking the currycomb out of the little grooming box reserved to Magician.

The horse was surprisingly clean and the grooming didn’t take long, even if Adam tried to make it last.

He had taken the first two horses out and was currently cleaning the feet of Maximus when voices resonated in the stables. He straightened as two familiar boys approached him.

“Parrish,” Ronan greeted and Noah grinned his big and childish smile and said, “Adam!”

Adam nodded at them and took the lunge to lead the light grey horse. “Where’s Gansey?” he asked.

“He told us he had an important meeting this afternoon,” Noah responded and shrugged, “He’ll probably join us later.”

“You two," Adam observed them, "Are attending a lesson ?” He said, his doubt present in his voice.

Aglionby did hold lessons on the Week-ends but the boys never attended them. Noah didn’t like the too competitive mind of the school and Ronan… Well, Ronan didn’t like Aglionby.

The latter gestured at Noah, “That idiot begged me to go with him on his first lesson here.”

“I didn’t beg !” Noah replied with outrage.

“Yes you fucking did, and at three o’clock on top of that!” Ronan was now smirking and Noah went on to deny his words, even though they all knew Ronan wouldn’t lie.

As he listened to them absent-mindedly while attaching Maximus, Adam glanced at the clock. They had less than three-quarters of an hour before the next lesson began.

“Guys,” he cut Noah’s tirade on whatever topic the boys were now talking about, and pointed the time to them, “If you want to be ready for the lesson, you should go now.”

Noah froze and his eyes widened in panic, “I really should go. Glitter doesn’t know how to stay clean.”

“Ha!” Ronan laughed once. “Don’t count on me to help you!”

“Why do I have a grey horse?” Noah complained as he went to the owner’s saddlery. Ronan followed him, boasting about all the advantages to have a dark horse.

They saluted him when they left the building and the stable found again its calm for a brief moment as the sounds and animation followed the two boys outside.

It was only a moment later when two girls and a boy appeared in the main alley. Blue was following them with Hestia. Their conversation stopped when they noticed Adam’s presence. The boy wanted to leave and returned to Magician and finished to prepare him but he couldn’t make his escape now.

“Adam,” Blue said, “This is Benjamin, Cassandra, and Johanna.”

The boy and the tall girl waved at him, the last girl just nodded at him.

“So you’re the one riding old Magician today,” she said with a sort of drawl that was meant to hurt. “Curious to see how that will go.”

With that, the girl turned on her heels and started to brush Kiss, a chestnut trotter. Blue shook her head at her, “Don’t mind her, Johanna’s like this with everyone.”

“You know, I’ve got a lot of practice with Ronan,” he reassured her and she offered him a small smile. “She can’t compare to him.”

“I imagine,” Blue responded with a scoff. “Did you see your friends today?”

Adam nodded, “Right before you arrived.”

“Great, the next hour promises to be interesting,” Blue grinned.

  


  


Adam was guiding Magician to the outdoor arena. In front of him were Ronan and Chainsaw and behind him, were Blue and the others. The ring wasn’t so far and they had time because Maura and Calla were still helping the children with their mounts. Persephone was here though. She appeared in the stable just before they left.

When they stopped in the middle of the sandy space, Adam felt his nerves come back. It was always the same before a ride. He couldn’t help it. Moreover, today he was on a new horse, a difficult one at that.

Magician, despite that, seemed pretty calm. He was still dozing off when Adam tightened the cinch.

Chainsaw, on the other hand, stayed the same. The mare couldn’t keep still. She was walking in circles around Ronan, snorting and neighing at her surroundings. Ronan cursed her but otherwise, didn’t seem bothered by her movements.

Noah was already on his horse when Adam saddled up. The others were rapidly getting on their horse too and then, the lesson began.

It went surprisingly well at first.

The warm-up passed without problems. Adam successfully maintained Magician in a slow canter. Nobody crashed in with another. Noah enjoyed himself as his horse seemed to take a liking to the little black mare called Noctis. Adam saw Noah chatted with Ben, the two of them already hitting it off as easily as their horses.

Johanna stayed with Cassandra, old familiarity and all. They were often walking and trotting next to one another.

Ronan tried to scowl but even he couldn’t stay angry when he could fully enjoy the ride. He found himself a rival in Blue. The two of them arguing on their horses and trying to win stupid bets and stupider races.

Adam was in his bubble with Magician, despite Ronan’s occasional interventions. The horse had tried to fight him for control and Adam had won it for the moment. Now, the horse was relaxing in his hands. Adam had been tempted to work him with loose reins but the horse tended to trip when he couldn’t lean on the bit.

So it all was well and good. Then, Maura announced they were going to jump.

Everyone had diverse reactions to it. Noah, Benjamin, Blue, and Johanna were happy with it. Ronan seemed to tense but held a determinate expression on his face. He already jumped a few times in the past month, this wouldn’t be a big problem.

However for Adam… It had been a long time since he had jumped a bar.

They all stood in the middle of the ring as Maura placed the first obstacle. To Adam’s relief, it wasn’t so high, maybe around 50 centimeters, but he couldn’t stop his muscles from clenching with stress.

He watched as everyone passed the obstacle without difficulties.

He knew how to jump that. He had jumped higher with Chainsaw. But he was on a new horse. 

He never rode a warmblood before but he saw how they were when he lunged them.

They were fast. They were delicate. They were 160 centimeters of nerves and speed.

Maura’s eyes fell on him.

“Adam,” she said, “It’s your turn now.”

He gulped as he gently pressed his calves against Magician’s sides. The horse responded immediately. His head lifted with awareness and his ears pricked with attention.

Adam felt the gelding tensed between his legs when the horse recognized what they were going to do.

He let out a breath.

The horse was speeding up his gait now, lengthening his walk. When Adam turned his wrist, the horse broke into a full gallop.

The horse was charging the bars. 

Adam didn’t know how to stop him.

He had just the time to straighten his back before the jump was before them. It was bad. The horse's head was too low and his strides not controlled. As a last resort, Adam gave one last impulsion and rose from his seat to follow the horse’s movement.

Magician didn’t jump.

Instead, he dived into the bars.

The bars fell.

Magician wasn’t bothered by it as he kept his hold on the bit. Adam knew they were still going at full speed around the arena and Magician didn’t intend to stop any time soon. 

Maura and Calla were screaming instructions at him but he couldn’t hear them when he was on the other side of the arena.

Pulling on the reins was not the solution as the horse would just tug on it more. Adam straightened the best he could and did one of the first things he learned with Chainsaw. He tapped his fingers against his palms, pulling and relaxing his hold on the reins.

The horse’s balanced gallop broke and forced him to reduce his speed. Adam continued playing with his fingers until Magician eased his pace completely.

He sighed when he joined the others.

To his surprise, Johanna grinned at him, “Not bad for the first time on Old Mage.”

“She isn’t wrong,” Cassandra added with a shy smile. “The first time I jumped with him, I did three laps of the ring before he decided to stop.”

“Fuck, what was that? Did you think you were on a racetrack?” Ronan smirked, all teasing edges and sharp teeth, “ ‘Cause, damn! That was some pretty good speed you offer us. Continue like this and you’ll win the next big race!”

Adam rolled his eyes, “Shut up.”

“It’s because he’s so light,” Noah intervened as if Ronan needed an explanation for his stupid remarks, “The horse forgets he has a rider on his back!”

“Man, you could be a jockey with your weight,” Ronan told him with faux admiration. “I’m so jealous.”

Adam pulled a face at that. “I’ll never become a jockey.”

“Nah, stay with us,” Noah said. “There’s plenty of adrenaline in jumping.”

“Yeah, I had my share today,” Adam sighed, petting his mount’s neck.

Cold blue eyes looked at him with a teasing glint and Ronan stated, “Less boring than your stupid dressage, uh?”

Adam scowled at him, “You need dressage between your bars. Next time, tried to jump without counting your strides.”

“You already did it today,” Ronan grinned, sarcasm blending in his words, “It went well.”

He was ready to reply with his own cynicism, but Maura interrupted them. “While Ronan is right, you should try to use more of your weight. Playing with your hands is good but you need to lean back more.”

Adam nodded at her. Maura looked at them all when she continued, “If your horse bolts, lean back and steer him on a circle. It will force him to reduce his speed and you’ll be able to take the control back. But if you can’t because there isn’t space, play with your hands. Pulling on the bit like brutes isn’t going to be helpful, but pulling and releasing may be more useful.”

“Alright,” Calla spoke with a sharp smile. “We’re going for a second try. Jo, you’re first. Don’t forget to keep your heels down!”

“Yes, boss!” The girl answered.

The others went on their turns without major problems. Ronan did have difficulties to stay on a straight line as Chainsaw paid to much attention to Gansey’s sudden appearance but they jumped the obstacle as effortlessly as ever.

It was back to his turn now and Adam could feel Magician eagerness even before they started to move. He tried to calm down as he fought his instincts to curl on himself. 

_Shoulders backward,_ he thought _, heels down, reins long but taut._

Adam looked at the obstacle. His horse tensed under him. When he opened his arms and pushed with his exterior leg, he was ready to go.

Magician started to canter. It was still too fast but this time, it was contained. He wasn’t charging the obstacle anymore.

Adam felt the difference when Magician jumped.

The force was there, pushing them in the air. It had nothing to do with their failed attempt.

Just after the jump, Adam straightened and the horse started to slow his pace.

He looked back.

Their turn was far from being perfect, but the bar stayed put.

Adam smiled.

At the gates, he saw several children hoped up and down before remembering horses were sensitive creatures. Theo and the others were here. They looked at him with admiration in their eyes. Next to them and trying to calm them down, stood Gansey. His friend wasn't hiding the proud smile on his face.

“Adam,” Blue called him, grinning. “I suppose you had practice in your big and shiny stable.”

“I didn't really ride there,” he replied with honesty.

“He was the best!” Noah exclaimed, immediately contradicting his friend, and Adam shook his head.

“I’m not the best. Chainsaw's just well trained,” Adam pointed out. “It pains me to admit it, but if you want to congratulate someone, it should be Lynch.”

“Bullshit.” The other protested. “Horses love your ass. Did you forget Shitty Punch?”

How could he forget the young stud that cost him his job?

But Adam frowned, still proving his point. “I never rode him though.”

“And maybe that's for the best,” Ronan said with dark amusement. “The horse was already so enamored with you, Parrish. I don’t know if he'd survive without you.”

He rolled his eyes at that statement, and Noah laughed and added, “It’s true. He was always following you around.”

“He trusted me because I didn’t try to break him,” Adam said with exasperation.

He didn’t like being reminded of the horse. Some would say it was because Adam didn’t like to be reminded of something he couldn’t get, others would see the resemblances between the young horse and the young man.

Whatever. It wasn’t like it mattered now.

  


  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like always, thanks for reading this and please tell me if there are any mistakes.
> 
> Next time, we'll learn more about Noah's past and relationship with his horse.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!  
> It's been a while but I had a lot going on these past few weeks.  
> I'm not happy with this chapter but I did my best.
> 
> We're back to Blue's POV. Warnings for a nongraphic panic attack, you can skip it when you reach "when she heard another scream." and read back at "When Adam and Blue arrived near the group". You can just press the space bar.  
> There's also an explication of Noah's past but it's light and focused more on how Glitter came into his life.
> 
> Hope you like it!

Blue looked at Adam and Magician. The boy was better than she thought. Magician wasn’t so difficult, but he still had his temper, especially when he was jumping. However, the boy succeeded in keeping him at a reasonable speed during the course. Now, they were cooling down in their own world.

She then observed Noah, who was walking his gelding quietly. The boy and the horse were a perfect match. Noah’s high energy was a good balance with the horse’s chilled force. Noah also seemed to be a little less experienced than his friends, but that didn’t appear to be a problem for his mount. Glitter was calm and knew his job well. A good teacher, a little too lazy for Blue but perfect for someone like Noah, who could share his enthusiasm with literally everyone.

Hestia made a swerve and promptly pulled Blue out of her thoughts. She scowled when she saw what made Hestia turned.

Ronan just cut them up from the right and went on the track. Hestia had pinned her ears back, and Blue reacted just in time to prevent her from biting Chainsaw’s croup.

“Do that again, and I’ll let Hestia bite your ass,” Blue muttered under her breath.

Ronan turned around and smirked at them. She glared right back at him.

“I mean it.” She insisted, and Hestia seemed to agree with her. Her mare kept her ears pinned, and lengthened her pace to join Chainsaw. Once she reached the black horse, Hestia stretched her neck.

It didn’t escape Ronan’s eyes, and he scowled as he snarled, “Keep your fucking beast away from us!”

“You didn’t have to approach us in the first place,” Blue snapped back and kept her mount from biting the other pair. Chainsaw didn’t need to take the blow for her rider’s stupidity.

“You were blocking the fucking way, walking like a damn snail!” Ronan spat and accelerated his mare’s pace. “And we kept our distance! It’s your nasty nag who’s fucking sensitive about everything.”

Blue felt her anger flared at that. “Don’t insult my horse because you don’t know how to respect distances! We’re in the right here! We had the priority!”

“I can see where your mare gets her fucking temper,” Ronan said, his cold smirk coming back on his face.

Blue’s blood boiled but before she could act on it, Ronan screamed. The boy curled up on his mare and a vicious curse left his lips.

Alarmed, Blue let her anger died down. She looked around them and saw Noah laughing behind Ronan.

Once he had recovered enough from the pain, Ronan straightened up and threw a murderous look at Noah.

“Czerny!” The boy gritted, still gripping his thigh.

“I always knew you’ll be into these sorts of stuff,” Noah grinned cheekily. When he caught Blue confused stare, he lifted his crop. Blue’s eyes widened and a snort escaped her mouth.

When Ronan turned his glare back to her, another clap reasoned in the arena. The boy didn’t scream this time, but his breath caught.

“Jesus Mary fuck!” He swore and added, “Czerny! I swear to God, I’ll kill you! Wait ‘till I find a fucking crop!”

“Oh yeah, I forget! I’m not the one who should do this!” Noah responded with a wink and made his horse turned around rapidly. Ronan went after him, still cursing and yelling at the blond boy.

“I can’t believe he actually did it,” a voice muttered next to her. Blue was surprised to find Adam and Magician standing next to her.

“Will Ronan really murder him?” She asked, a little worried for Noah. She didn’t spend a lot of time with him, but he seemed like a nice guy, despite his restless energy.

Adam just shrugged. “I don’t think so, but I won’t be surprised to learn that they both died from something dumb one day.”

Blue nodded as she saw Ronan getting off his horse and taking Noah down with him. Their horses seemed used to their antics and just walked away from them. Chainsaw ignored them and went towards Gansey and the children, her ears pinned back to show her discontentment. Glitter was just behind her, but his ears were pricked forward with curiosity.

“We should get off too,” Adam said, and Blue smirked despite herself. Adam huffed when he caught her grin. “I thought you were better than this.”

“It’s still funny,” she responded before stopping Hestia. She was on the ground when she heard another scream. It was different. Terror resonated from it, reaching and contaminating everybody who heard it. Blue felt her heart jumped in her chest as anxiety poured inside her. She rapidly let go of the saddle and turned towards the sound.

The scene made her stop in her tracks.

Ronan was crouched in one corner of the arena, looking lost and worried. Laughters and amusement had disappeared. Now panic was twisting his face in already sharp angles. Before him, Noah was motionless in the sand, frozen in fright and pain. He was twitching slightly. Blue didn’t know if it was in fear or something else.

“Noah!” Ronan screamed. “Fuck! Listen to me!”

The good mood shifted in the arena.

Adam was already beside her. He appeared to be equally anxious and helpless faced with this situation. The other riders were already at the gate, busy with their mounts, but they stopped and looked at them. Blue saw her mom come their way with Calla and Persephone at her sides.

Gansey had crossed the arena without waiting and was already kneeling beside Ronan. Noah’s horse trotted between the boys and calmly stood next to his rider.

When Blue and Adam arrived near the group, the scene had passed. Noah was smiling again, teasing Ronan.

Only, his smile wasn’t bright, and his eyes were different. The life in them seemed to have been seep from them, leaving something dead and empty behind. His knuckles were fiercely clutching Glitter’s bridle and he took support on the horse to stand again.

Ronan didn’t smile back. Blue learned that the boy wasn’t one for fakeness. His blue eyes were grey now, dulled by the worry and fear fighting in them. He pushed back Gansey harshly when the boy tried to murmur something to him and went to retrieve his mare, his fists clenched at his sides.

“Is there something wrong?” Maura asked, a little breathless as she had to cross the whole arena to join them.

Gansey threw a look at Noah. Blue saw Adam do the same. Noah ignored them and did his best to smile at Maura.

“Nothing’s wrong, madam!” He replied, voice a little too soft to rival his earlier happy tone.

Maura frowned at him, then looked at the other two boys, and finally caught Blue’s eyes.

"Nothing happened. Just boys acting like idiots." Blue shook her head at her mom and Persephone sighed.

“Bad memory, good memory,” she hummed. “Forget-Me-Not really is a beautiful name.”

She patted the grey horse's head. Blue felt Noah tense as he stared at the woman.

“Ah,” Persephone sighed again. “We’ll have a lot to work on. Magie and memories and dreams.”

“Persephone,” Maura intervened gently. “I think you’re scaring them.”

Calla smirked, “It’s their own problems. How can they be afraid of that?”

Blue watched her mother rolled her eyes once again. “Ok, so… If there ain’t actually any problems then, we’ll let you take care of your mounts. Please, Blue, make sure to verify someone didn’t forget something.”

Blue nodded and the women went ahead.

“You can start to head back,” she said to the boys. “I’ll just take a tour and see if I find a vest or a crop.”

Blue turned and went to look at the poles and fences. She reached the first one when she heard someone walking behind her. Curious, she turned around to see Noah and his horse following her.

The boy stopped net when she turned around. He seemed shy now, nearly fading in the background with his horse. They were so pale these two, like the sand in the ring, more now that Noah didn’t seem to have fully recovered from earlier. Pale, like a ghost, like death.

She didn’t like where her thoughts were going and pushed them away.

“You should join the others,” she gently told him as something caught her attention.

Noah took a step forward and said, “I wanted to thank you.”

His voice wasn’t more than a breath. Blue looked back at him to make sure the boy was still here, still real.

“Why?” She asked genuinely.

“You lied to your mother,” Noah explained, “because of me.”

The sentence held nothing but guilt. Her heart broke just hearing it.

“It was nothing,” She replied, but Noah sighed, long and deep.

“It wasn't nothing” he responded, his frustration giving the exhale more force. His fists clenched around the reins and the horse offered him silent support as he attached himself to the boy’s side.

“Noah…” She started. She felt concern come back at full gallop when she stared at the other. His eyes were surreal, dark and clear like shattered glass. “You don’t have to explain it. I understand.”

Noah gazed at her for the first time, and surprisingly, the light was back in his eyes. “I do. I’m here now, with Glitter. It’s… It’s not something… It’ll happen again.”

“Even if it happens again, what would that change?” Blue shook her head. “If you want to tell me, I won’t stop you but you don’t have to do it. Know that.”

She smiled at him then. Noah smiled back, a real and pleased little smile.

They walked together around the ring. Noah found two crops, surely forgotten by the younger riders, and a vest Blue didn’t know who brought it. They talked and laughed and Blue was pleased to see the boy returning back to his joyful self.

They were on the way back to the stables when Noah murmured, “Glitter helps me, you know. With my… Problems.”

Blue stopped and reached to stroke the grey gelding. “I’m sure he does his best.”

“Yeah,” Noah replied pensively. “I probably wouldn’t be me if we didn’t meet.”

Then, he snorted, “I wouldn’t be here! That’s for sure!”

Insulted, Blue glared at him. Noah grinned and shook his head. “I don’t mean it like that! No! It’s just that natation was more my thing before. I started to ride with him.”

So that explained why Noah was slightly less experienced than the others. “So what? It was love at first sight?” She teased lightly.

“Yes!” Noah exclaimed. “I tried different horses before him. Five or six? My therapist was starting to give up when this big lazy ass joined the club. He was supposed to be a school horse there, retired champion and all. Difficult to believe, eh?”

“He did his job,” Blue remarked with a smile, “Give him a break.”

“All he wants to do is eat and doze. I’m not an expert but even old horses have to do exercises.” Noah grinned as Glitter proved him right and tried to nip at the grass. He let him graze and allowed his broken eyes to linger on the beast.

“Well, I can mock him all I want but he saves me in the end.” Noah whispered with a glazed expression. “He feels it when it’s not a good day.”

“It’s why he came directly after your scream,” Blue realized. “He knew something would happen.”

Noah nodded and stroke the horse’s neck. “He probably knows me more than anyone else. And I probably know him more than anyone else.”

“Horses have that power,” Blue smiled and Noah nodded.

“I actually had a lot of work to do with him as he wasn’t supposed to be used for therapy,” he explained with a small smile. “But he has a good heart.”

Blue didn’t know if she could ask him what happened. Noah seemed like a typical Raven Boy, loud and happy and free, but now she could see between the lines. She caught the darkness in his clear eyes. The lines of his smile that stretched a little too wide earlier when he made a joke. How desperately he tried to hide it all behind his laughs.

Noah looked away from the horse and caught her stare. Blue felt her cheeks warmed and averted her eyes.

“You can ask,” the boy said. “I’m sure you have heard of it.”

She heard about what happened to Ronan’s family after she learned his family name, but she couldn’t remember another incident that involved a Czerny.

He shook his head when she didn’t react. “I suppose it occurred years ago.”

Noah stroked Glitter’s mane as his eyes looked at the horse without seeing him. He began to say, “It happened five years ago. I was in ninth grade when I... I almost died.”

Blue froze. Noah’s hand clenched around a strand of grey hair and the horse stopped eating to glance at him with bright blue eyes. Glitter nudged him lightly with his muzzle until Noah loosened his grip and released a sigh.

“I spent two years out of school,” Noah let out with a shaky breath. “Six months in a comatose, six months in rehabilitation because of brain damages. The second year, I tried a lot of therapies until my sister heard of horse ones in her riding school."

Noah paused. Two droplets rolled down his cheeks. Blue wanted to reach for him but she feared that Noah would stop if she did. So she stayed silent and waited patiently. Her heart ached when she caught tears in eyes that looked much better with happiness in them. Her own eyes were starting to sting and her vision blurred.

"Even there, it was difficult," Noah spoke again. "My body had difficulties to respond to my brain. My trust was fractured in pieces. I… I couldn’t stay alone with someone. Now, I still have difficulties with my balance and to stay focus on something.”

He stroked Glitter’s head as he added, “I couldn’t ride back then. I worked initially on the ground but I was afraid of horses. Glitter was the only one that didn’t scare me and who could help me. My therapist wouldn't let him near me at first but I was stubborn and Glitter was patient. They were so surprised when I asked to work with Glitter that they couldn't say no after that. We worked together for one year before my parents bought him for my birthday. I started to feel better then.” He smiled at that. “My sister rode him for me, but I insisted to learn how to ride two years ago. That same year, I entered Aglionby and made my first friend since the incident. It happened to be Ronan.”

Blue’s eyes widened despite the tears held in them, “How ?”

Noah gave her a watery smile, “One teacher punished me because I spaced out a lot. He didn’t want to hear about my condition apparently, and I ended up in detention. Ronan was there too.”

"Of course," She snorted despite herself. 

“I drew a horse to pass the time. Ronan saw it and asked about it,” Noah continued. “We bitched about professors together and I don’t know when but he insisted that his father should give me a lesson.”

Noah sighed then, “It’s thanks to Niall Lynch that I started to ride. He and his wife helped me a lot, especially when I fell the first time.”

He fell silent after that. Blue didn’t know what to say after all of this. Her eyes were humid, tears kept in them by an unknown force. Still, she managed to ask, “The others know, right?”

“Yeah," Noah nodded, "I still have sequels and episodes like earlier. I don’t remember them or what I do when they happened. But I know when I had one because of everyone's reactions to it.”

“Can we do something to help?” She asked as Hestia started to pull on the reins to go.

“No,” Noah replied sadly with a shake of his head, “It happened randomly and they last more or less time. Some days are better than others. The only thing to do is to let me have my space and wait for it to end. And when it ends, it’s better if Glitter is next to me. I feel more grounded when I can reach for him.”

Blue nodded and looked at the barns. “We should go untack them before my mom sends the others to retrieve us.”

“Yeah,” Noah agreed, “and I need to see Ronan before he leaves.”

“Noah?” The boy paused and turned around with a confused expression. “Thank you for telling me.”

His lips loosened in a small smile and he forced his horse to walk forward.

Blue sighed as she went after him. The women were right when they said the boys weren’t simple, and darkness would follow them. However, she couldn’t hold them responsible for it. They weren’t troubles but troubled. The difference was light and nearly imperceptible but it was there and non-negligible.

The stables were busy when they came in. Everyone was running, horses were hitting their door, and the kids were asking the Raven Boys all sorts of questions.

Blue saw her cousin show up with the wheelbarrow. Maura had another one and was already feeding the left alley.

Hestia began to move restlessly, her attention fixed on the wheelbarrow. Blue went into the box and removed Hestia’s bridle. She untacked the saddle and leg protectors and made a quick task of cleaning them. 

After that, she went to the other stable where she caught Adam and Gansey talking to the kids. Magician was eating, but he seemed already groomed. Gansey caught sight of her and called, “Blue! You’re here.”

She looked at him and the children, “Need Help ?”

Gansey shook his head and pointed at the children, “No, we already had our assistance. They're very efficient.” The three children smiled as one, even Adam mirrored them.

“Okay then, if I’m not needed here, I’ll go see the others.” She said with a grin. “We have a cake ready in the refectory, go take a piece.”

The children didn’t need to hear it a second time. They scrambled out of the stable in the direction of the building.

“Well, we’ll go take a piece too,” Gansey said and looked at his friend. Adam didn’t seem please with it but something seemed to make him nod.

Blue went to help Johanna clean her protectors and Ben needed help with his saddle. Blue didn’t know how he managed to remove his stirrups but they had a whole lot of difficulties putting them back in place.

To their surprise, they weren’t the last ones to join the feast. Noah and Ronan were absent but that didn’t lessen the joyful atmosphere of the room. The children were unaware of the dark thoughts that were storming inside Blue’s mind and surely, Adam’s and Gansey’s ones too. She caught their eyes more than she could count and each time she felt something stir inside her.

The cake had disappeared when she saw Gansey made a light gesture at her. When she followed him outside, she asked, “Where’s Adam?”

Worry flashed in the other’s eyes before they returned to their usual brown tones. Gansey just said, “He went to his next job.”

Noah and Ronan were waiting in the parking lot, next to the flashy car. Gansey frowned at Ronan and spoke with a hard tone, “Where did you find it?”

“It” was a beer can that Ronan was drinking. Ronan didn’t reply to the remark. He just smirked and took another gulp of his drink. Gansey rolled his eyes at that and sighed.

“Jane,” Gansey called and Blue rolled her own eyes at the nickname. “Do you have other duties tonight?”

Blue pretended to think about it before shaking her head. “Nah. The chores are all finished and I did my homework yesterday. Why ?”

Gansey smiled genuinely, “Well, we wanted to show you our world.”

Noah grinned too, “Yeah! You have to come with us to Monmouth. I’m sure you’ll like it!”

“What? Parrish and Czerny fell for the maggot so she gets to come?” Ronan grunted harshly and glared at her. Blue glared back.

“Lynch,” Gansey said with finality.

"Fuck you too!" Ronan snarled. “She better stays off my room!” He went to the car and made sure to slam the door two times.

Noah sighed and Gansey said, “We should head back. Are you coming with us?”

Blue didn’t want to say yes but she couldn’t say no either, so she said, “I need to take a shower first.”

Monmouth Manufacturing was unusual, but not in the wrong way. It was unique and so representative of the boys standing in front of her. Especially Gansey. Now that she had seen it, she couldn’t picture him living anywhere else.

The place was old despite being renovated. The main room was covered in books and cards and maps. All of it was in messy piles, opened on the floor, covering every parcel of furniture. A small, miniature Henrietta stood in the center of the room. It was made of cereal cartons and other boxes and it was disturbingly accurate. 

There were three doors, two of them were closed and Blue learned soon enough which one led to Ronan’s room.

Gansey took a seat on the couch, another piece of furniture contributing to the mess. Blue chose to sit on the floor, next to a building still in construction. Gansey looked at her with an opened expression and a light in his eyes and before he could open his mouth, Noah exclaimed, “Oh no! Blue, quick! Make your escape!”

Gansey instantly scowled, “I’ll let you know that Glendower is a perfectly nice topic of discussion and a very interesting one at that!”

“Yeah at first,” Noah replied and then murmured to Blue. “Stop him before he begins, or else, you’ll be here again tomorrow.”

“Noah!”

“And I’ll take my leave!” He grinned and went to Ronan’s door. He hit it three times and screamed, “Lynch! I’ll take a shower first!”

Then, Noah ran to the bathroom. Immediately after, the door opened with a bang and Ronan went after the blond boy, slamming all the doors coming in his way. Screams were heard in the other room but Gansey took back her attention.

“I know it seemed bad and I’ll understand if you don’t want to hear about it.” He said, a little hesitant. The other appeared so defeated that Blue couldn’t bring herself to say no. Moreover, she did want to learn more about Gansey, even she had to listen to him rambling for one hour.

“I want to know about it,” she admitted and Gansey lightened up. Just behind them, Noah was thrown out of the bathroom and took place at her side, awaiting his turn to shower. 

Gansey smiled and asked, “Well, what do you know about Glendower?”

He did ramble for more than one hour and she suspected that he only stopped because he had to take a shower. However, it wasn’t boring at all. It was clear that Gansey liked to talk about Glendower and his legend, no matter how many times he recounted it.

At the moment, they were eating leftovers of pizzas. Blue took a small piece as she discovered earlier that the bathroom wasn’t just a bathroom, but served as a kitchen too.

“So you think that your welsh king is here in Henrietta?” She asked when Gansey told her about his quest and how he expected to find Glendower’s coffin here, in a lost town in Virginia. It wasn’t that she couldn’t believe it, but it seemed a little far-fetched.

“There are a lot of references here that could help us,” Gansey replied.

Noah took another piece of pizza and added, “Yeah, and we search in the forest every weekend.”

“In the forest?”

“Yes, but we reached a dead-end,” Gansey told her. “We can’t walk further ahead in a certain part.”

“The path is too sharp to be used by a car and it’s too far to walk to it,” Noah explained.

“Why not go on horseback ?” She then suggested and realized too late, that Gansey couldn’t ride.

“Why, eh?” Ronan spoke harshly. “Because not everyone can fucking ride.”

She felt bad for Gansey, but she started to be sick of being the target of Ronan’s attacks. So, she responded back, “It would be helpful for you and it would prevent you from using your car in the forest.”

Ronan’s scowl was fierce and his eyes seemed cold and piercing like fresh-cut ice. His smirk was cutting like a blade, ready to strike his victim right in the heart, “Maybe the forest doesn’t want us to find it. Maybe we’ll fucking die if we reach it.”

“Then, we won’t know until we try,” Blue argued.

“She has a point,” Gansey’s voice cut them short. Ronan’s expression was bitter and betrayal broke all of his sharp edges. His glare turned to Gansey. The other shook his head, “It’s time to make changes and I need to ride again for that.”

“It risks to be for nothing,” Ronan remarked grimly.

“Then, be it,” Gansey affirmed and then sighed, “I’m tired of being afraid. I think that I need to surmount it.”

Ronan opened his mouth to argue but closed it when Gansey glanced at him, “You, more than anyone else, should know the feeling.”

“So it’s decided then…” Noah said and Gansey nodded.

“Blue,” he addressed her, “Can you help me learn how to ride again?”

Blue looked at him, at Noah, and at Ronan. All of the boys’ attention was on her, and the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, “Yes, of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like always, don't be afraid to tell me if there are any mistakes.  
> I don't know anything about PTSD symptoms and brain damages. It all comes from the Internet so if you see something not right, please tell me.
> 
> That's it for now, it wasn't supposed to be like that. However, the next chapter is almost finished. We'll go to Aglionby and the second big problem will enter the story, mixed with jealousy and a stallion that everyone wants to save. 
> 
> We start to have a lot of horses now and there are more to come, at least two important ones (they'll be introduced in the next chapters) and three less important ones. I don't know if I should make little presentations for them... Maybe I'll draw them with their riders/owners later if I have time.
> 
> Please, stay safe and take care of yourself and others during these hard times.


End file.
